@sophie that “do not reverse in flight” sign has amused me. “Do not reverse in flight. You will fall out of the sky.”

(I guess it’s actually for some specific component rather than suggesting you might slam the whole plane in reverse without thinking)

@sophie I am always utterly amazed at the ridiculously small size of the Porter's Powerplant.

@jon @sophie you can put the propellor into reverse (it spins in the same direction, but the blades twist so it pushes air the other way)

doing this any time except when moving forwards on the ground typically has Negative Consequences

@jon @sophie Macht den Eindruck von: jedes Schild hat eine Geschichte.

@jon @sophie
No, it actually refers to reverse thrust (reversing the blade angles of the propeller) for the whole machine. In any type it is extremely unusual to do it in flight, but in some (like this) it is actually dangerous and may lead to loss of control.

@neverpanic @jon Reverse in flight stalls the horizontal stabilizer, resulting in loss of control.

@sophie @jon Ah, wie so oft in der Fliegerei: Signs with a history written in blood :'(

@jackeric @sophie huh, I never knew it worked by twisting the blades, which certainly seems less hassle than needing to reverse the entire engine’s rotation.

@jon @sophie I think some of the airships might've used a gearbox to reverse the propellor rotation when required